This invention relates to an alignment device for aligning a putter on an intended line that traverses through an impact point of a golf ball resting on the intended line. The golfer is therefore able to correlate the perceived alignment of the ball with the actual direction of impact required to maximize the probability of the ball traveling in the desired direction. Putting a golf ball, i.e., hitting the ball with a putter, usually on a part of a golf course called a “green,” requires several skills operating at the same time. The relative “speed” of the green, the uphill, downhill and/or sidehill slope of the green, the lie of the ground beneath the ball and the way the golfer sets up over the ball all affect the decisions reached by the golfer on how to strike the ball and, consequently, affects the way the ball rolls. The golfer can control setup. However, the other factors are considerations that may affect how the golfer reads the break or how hard the golfer strikes the putt, but they are not controlled by the golfer. However, the golfer can control the setup, which affects the ability to properly strike and roll the ball. There are actually nine different possible slope categories, with an infinite number of combinations within each category, that a golfer must consider when setting up to the ball: 1) straight flat lie, 2) straight downhill lie, 3) straight uphill lie, 4) left to right uphill lie, 5) left to right downhill lie, 6) right to left uphill lie, 7) left to right downhill lie, 8) straight sidehill lie that ultimately breaks left, and 9) straight sidehill lie that ultimately breaks right. Aside from the environmental factors, there is a perceptual factor based on parallax between the position of the player's body and the ball that affects the ability of the golfer to translate what is perceived as the required direction of impact on the ball, into the direction of actual impact. If the body, particularly the head, eyes and shoulders, is not correctly aligned, the player will believe that the ball is being struck in the desired direction, when in fact the ball is being struck in a direction not desired by the player, causing the ball to pass to the left or right of the hole.
The principle behind the invention described in this application is that the more closely and consistently the ball is positioned in a perpendicular orientation under the dominant eye of the golfer, the greater the probability that the putter will be aligned properly behind the ball so that the ball will be struck in such a manner so as to propel it in the desired direction. By “perpendicular” is meant the position of the ball in relation to the putting surface on which the ball is positioned, so that when the golfer assumes a putting stance, the dominant eye is perpendicularly positioned over the ball, the putter and the intended line. Because the back side of the ball is where impact on the ball by the putter head should take place, it is the intended line of the putt as it intersects the back side of the ball that should be perpendicular with the dominant eye of the golfer.
The reasoning behind the assumption is twofold. First, when the dominant eye is bi-directionally perpendicular to the back of the ball as it rests on the intended line, the parallax of improper positioning, i.e. inside, outside, in front of, behind or any possible combination, over the ball is reduced or eliminated. Secondly, the ability to swing the putter in a pendulum fashion back and through along the intended line is optimized and, therefore, maximizes energy transfer more consistently from the putter to the back of the ball resulting in more consistent distance and direction.
It is known that alignment of the ball is an important factor in translating the intended direction of the ball into the actual direction of the ball. Of course, the rules of actual play do not permit the use of alignment devices beyond what can be legally applied to the putter head itself, such as positioning lines, a representation of balls directly behind the putter face, and so forth. Thus, proper training should include a means by which a player can learn by repetition the proper place of the dominant eye and weight distribution in relation to the ball, the putter head and the intended line on any particular slope. Practice, trial-and-error correction, and further repetition of the corrected position have been shown to enable the player to improve proper positioning of the putter on the intended line behind the ball in a perpendicular position beneath the dominant eye. Use of the term “perpendicular” does not imply only an exact 90 degree orientation with reference to the putting surface, and may include a position perceived by the player as being perpendicular even though deviating from perpendicular. Therefore, the invention allows for a golfer to identify and practice the preferred setup more consistently, even though it may vary slightly from the more technically correct positioning.
This ability to properly position the putter on the intended line behind the ball is then taken to the golf course during actual play, permitting the player to apply training and skill in considering the environmental factors determining the proper force and direction of the putt, and then properly applying the perceptual factor to actually strike the ball in the desired direction.